CalRecycle Announces $70M in Grants, 250 New Recycling Sites Coming to California

In a significant move to increase the accessibility of recycling in California, the state has announced it will be installing more than 250 new recycling sites across 30 counties. The new accessible recycling locations are made possible due to $70 million in recycling innovation award grants from CalRecycle.

CalRecycle’s Beverage Container Redemption Innovation Grants are funding 37 projects that will bring advanced recycling technologies, such as reverse vending machines, mobile recycling units, and convenient bag-drop locations, to areas of California where recycling options have been limited. Major supermarket chains like Save Mart and Smart and Final will receive over $2 million each for reverse vending machines in 19 counties. The machines will go a long way to streamlining bottle recycling and allow for consumers to quickly deposit empty beverage containers for cash.

“Innovative ways to recycle will help more Californians cash in their beverage containers and provide recycled materials for in-state remanufacturers,” CalRecycle Director Zoe Heller said.

“These new sites will make redemption as simple as feeding containers into a machine or dropping off a bag of empty containers.”

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The grant money will also bring modernized recycling sites to underserved counties, including Butte, Imperial, Lassen, Mendocino, and Merced. The new recycling sites and innovations are just the next step in increasing recycling rates and reducing waste, especially in regions where residents previously had limited access to convenient recycling options, in California.

In the next year, California plans to fund even more programs to improve its recycling infrastructure. In 2025, the state is set to invest $138 million in additional Redemption Innovation grants, $50 million for Beverage Container Quality Infrastructure grants, and $25 million for Reusable Beverage Container Recycling Infrastructure grants. These grants are set to improve the state’s ability to collect, reuse, and recycle more beverage containers.

Additionally, starting on Jan. 1, 2025, large beverage retailers in areas not served by a recycling center will face new takeback requirements. Retailers will either need to create an in-store system to redeem beverage container deposits or join a non-profit cooperative on their own or with other retailers to give customers the ability to redeem. The cooperatives will receive state funding for each container recycled with the flexibility to offer reverse vending machines, mobile recycling, or bag-drop recycling services.